The Morning Rush
5:00am—Alarm sounds. Hit the snooze button.
5:30am—Out of bed. Hit the shower.
6:15am—Kiss the kids goodbye. Hit the road.
7:30am—Arrive at client site. Hit the laptop to prepare for a full day of meetings.
So begins a typical day in the life of Title Nine customer Zaida Aronovsky, information systems consultant, wife, and mother of three girls. It’s a day that rarely ends before midnight.
Why such long hours? In addition to working full time and running a household, Zaida makes time to pursue her other passion—sports. She began her athletic career on the sidelines in junior high—not warming the bench, but willing teams to victory as a cheerleader. She went on to become a member of the Platt High School cheerleading squad that launched an eight-year winning streak at city competitions throughout central Connecticut. What’s more, Zaida was not just any cheerleader. She was the brave soul at the top of the pyramid. At 5 feet 2 inches tall and 110 pounds, it’s a feat that 44-year-old Zaida could likely pull off even today.
It seems Zaida’s cheerleading days were good training for her current career as a project manager. What do cheerleading and project management have in common? Strategy, teamwork and execution. “I get a kick out of planning, bringing together a group of people, making something happen, making it successful, having people communicate. You have a mission and implement it successfully—that’s what I’m all about, whether it’s professionally or athletically.”
Midday Madness
These days, fitting in a workout often means cutting corners, and for Zaida that usually entails skipping meals. “Working through lunch is the norm. I have a Balance bar and fruit or 100-calorie cookies for something sweet.”
With a hectic schedule like hers, you might peg Zaida for a java junky, but you’d be wrong. “I gave up caffeine when I became pregnant with my first child,” Zaida says, “and I never went back.”
Kickin’ It After Work
After 6:00pm or so, you’ll find Zaida either kickin’ it at home with her kids or kickin’ it on the soccer field with her teammates. Most nights she heads home, helps make dinner, and enjoys some rowdy play time with her daughters—Katrina, Sofia, and Jessica, ages eight, six, and four. At around 8:00pm, she begins the process of putting the girls to bed. It’s an event that often takes an hour. Somewhere around 9:00pm, she sneaks in a 30 to 45-minute workout on her Total Gym, using both the weights and the bike. Then she snags some quiet time with her husband Nate before settling in to work on soccer league business and answer emails for a couple hours.
One special night a week, Zaida plays soccer, a sport she picked up 15 years ago when she attended a co-ed drop-in clinic run by former All-American Dave Fromer. Her soccer career quickly evolved into a quest to create the perfect soccer league for women—one that would be both competitive and accommodating to women of all skill levels.
What began as a team of eight friends posting flyers has grown into two leagues—the Marin Women’s Soccer League and the more competitive Golden Gate Women’s Soccer League for players over 35. Together, the leagues have enabled hundreds of women to build sports into their lives in a fun and accessible way. They have developed Zaida’s game, as well.
“When I began at thirty-something they started me up front, but I didn’t have a lot of skills,” Zaida says. “I learned. I learned quickly. I realized eventually that I liked playing defense.” Now Zaida is versatile—she plays fullback on the wing, stopper, and sweeper.
A big reason why Zaida plays is to be a good role model for her girls. “I think it’s important for them to see that I’m active.” Nate often brings the girls to watch Zaida’s weekend games and they love hanging out on the sidelines. “It’s just the best feeling when you are coming off the field after the game and you have this kid running to you screaming, ‘Mom!,’ and they give you a really big hug.”
Getting Some Girl Time
Soccer nights are special for more reasons than one. After the game, usually around 8:00pm, the team heads out for a beer and a bite. It’s some cherished big girl time that Zaida describes as a highlight of her week. The women Zaida has met through soccer are more than just teammates; they are among her closest friends.
By the time Zaida gets home at 9:30pm or so, the girls are already in bed. Needless to say, Zaida skips the Total Gym on soccer nights. Otherwise, her nighttime ritual is largely the same as any other evening—some alone time with Nate, attending to soccer league business, and answering work emails.
Sometime around midnight, it’s finally lights out. In a handful of hours, Zaida will be up and at it all over again. You go girl!
Wow! I am simply amazed by how much Zaida can fit into her day. I’m a physical therapist, and totally believe in staying fit. I don’t have any children yet, so I have all the time in the world for my fitness pursuits. I head to the gym for at least an hour and a half four days a week. I often wonder what I’ll do when I have children. It’s inspiring to know there’s someone out there who actually manages to pull it off. I don’t think it’s easy, but then it’s not impossible either! Way to go, Zaida!
Zaida is a soccer-playing friend of mine. She is driven and determined and works very hard. She also has a lot of fun! Weekends you’ll find her playing with her kids in their yard, having friends and family over, and generally relaxing. Our soccer team has a couple of weekends away each year and part of the fun is getting Zaida to laugh so hard that she cries. Her schedule may seem overwhelming to some (it does to me!), but she manages it with grace and a great attitude.
Honestly, Zaida’s story seems crazy to me. What she’s teaching her kids is that it’s okay to go all day and not have any spontaneous, unscheduled time where life simply happens. We could all pack more into our days. The trick is to see what we can let go of so we can simply “be” once in a while.
I think Zaida’s story is pretty amazing, how much of us honestly work more then we should? Sleep less then we would like and give everything to those we love around us? It’s nice to see a true story, not a storybook fairytale.
I work 20+ hours a week, attend school full time in a demanding program, try to keep the house clean, spend time with my fiance and family and I spent half of last year also training for my first half Ironman. Yeah I slept less, I didn’t always eat a perfectly balanced meal and there were days that were hard. However, I did it and am training this year for a marathon. Maybe later I’ll take a break and yes I try to be healthy but I am doing what I love and enjoying myself, nobody but myself forces me to do these things.
So thank you for a story that shows life is not one size fits all!
To answer the question however- I do play a team sport, soccer, and each time I step on the field with my team nothing else matters. It’s amazing how for 90 minutes I am completley focused on the game and not what I have to do tomorrow, what happened today, how I look or the state of the world. It is just about my team, the ball and the goal. I recently took about 3 months off and am starting up again next week. I wont be making that mistake again! Playing gives me a boost of confidance, it’s a workout where you don’t think about calories or fat burned just playing.
People sometimes think I’m crazy for getting up at 5:30 to work out, but that guarantees that the workout gets done! It leaves me free to spend time with my dog and husband after work, although all of that is about to change as I’m 36 weeks pregnant… I am lucky to have a fitness center in my office building so I will start using that on my lunch hour once I return to work (less time away from baby). I sure hope I can survive on 5hrs a night b/c I don’t think I’ll be getting much more than that for a long time!
Long days with 3 kids but having an outlet through a sport is something I can totally relate to. Having played a college team sport, field hockey, and now raising 3 boys and working, I cherish two athletic outlets with my girlfriends, running with a group of women in the early mornings and playing tennis in a doubles league. My closest girlfriends are often the ones I play or do sports with and I would go crazy and lose my grounding with them and the athletic outlet. Neither athletic pursuit is as constant as Zadia’s with a regular weekly schedule outlet but I grab all I can get when I can get it as it makes me happy and whole which all the men in my life (husband and 3 boys) benefit from daily!
So I say – make the time because it is worth it for the soul, mind and body!
Susan
I’m in the fitness business….I have to have 8-9 hours of sleep a day. I typically work 10-12 hours and cherish the time I have off to my self! Kudos for all of you that have families, work & a fit lifestyle! My boyfriend is also very active and works alot….and only takes on 5 hours of sleep. He doesn’t need any more than that.
As for the weight/height thing….from a health stand point it is an issue. As we get older…even more so. Maintaining a healthy weight is so important. It gets harder as we age. As women we have to work so much harder to stay in a healthy range when metabolism slowing and our hormones changing. It shouldn’t be an obsessive thing…but about being healthy.
Vix
5’4″ 115 lb – 120 lb
I am amazed by her story. I personally need 8 hours a night to tackle my days, but if she can survive on 5, then that’s what works for her. I am in bed by 9:30 so I can do my workouts at 5:30 AM when the baby wakes up (my husband graciously feeds her so I can go run). As for size, I like having weight on there- it goes to show that people can be all sizes and fit. A size 2 can be just as fit as a size 20. It’s all about the person, not the number.
Just my opinion,
Becca (5’9″, 128 lbs)
Thanks for the inspirational story. I am single for now but comitted to playing as much as possible, mostly running and mtn biking, and it is inspiring to read how women keep this up when they have a family. I hope someday to meet similar challenges with some of the grace of these women!
As for the “stats” I think it is very appropriate to ignore the stigma of weight and give yours proudly! There is no normal, everyone’s body shapes are different and I am so happy to see that T9 wants to celebrate this!
Thanks so much,
Eileen, 5’7″ 142lbs
I do the opposite of Zaida. When the alarm goes off at 5am, four days out of the week, I get up and run with a friend or at the gym.
I am spent by the time I get the kids into bed (Why DOES it take an hour? But it does!) and the best I can hope for is a few minutes of facebook scrabulous and a quick kiss goodnight from my husband.
I mostly get by on about 7 hours of sleep per night, with some nights less.
I have to say that making time for running in my life isn’t something I do entirely with joy. I like the way I look and feel and I like the feeling of accomplishment, but many days I wish I could use the time for other more creative pursuits. At times, my commitment to fitness feels more like an albatross than a gift.